Character bento or chara-ben are a great way to show off artistic flair when preparing a packed lunch. The food is formed to express a cute character, often from anime, to the delight of whoever the lunch has been made for.

Studio Ghibli inspired bento boxes are especially popular, loved by adults and children alike, with a wealth of recognizable characters to choose from.

But this photo of a Ghibli-inspired chara-ben got more attention than usual when it was uploaded to Twitter by rock guitarist, 美七海 (@gtx373x).

She explains in the tweet that her co-workers planned to have a Studio Ghibli themed chara-ben face off, resulting in lots of Totoro and No-face lunches. But one in particular stood out.

After thinking outside of the (bento) box, one participant realized that just as recognizable as the cute protagonists of the movies is the legendary Studio Ghibli director himself, Hayao Miyazaki.

The more you look at it, the likeness is really uncanny.

With quite simple ingredients, they really managed to capture the essence of Hayao Miyazaki. Whitebait make up his beard and hair, tarako (pollack roe) for the lips and seaweed paste for the glasses and other details.

We didn't get a chance to see the other entries to the competition, but it's safe to say this striking bento left the longest lasting impression!